Practical advice for every type of move

The articles here fall into four groups, and knowing which group you are in saves scrolling. Planning articles cover the weeks before a move: notice periods, utilities, the order things need to happen in. Packing articles cover materials and method, including the awkward categories that break most often.

Moving-day articles cover the hours themselves, from access and parking to what should stay with you rather than going in the van. Circumstance articles cover the moves that come with something else attached, such as a separation, a first move away from home, a pet, or a deadline set by somebody else.

Most people need one article from the planning group and one from whichever other group matches their situation. Reading more than that is usually procrastination.

Timing matters more than length here. Planning articles are worth reading four to six weeks out, because most of what they suggest has a lead time: notice on a tenancy, a parking suspension from the council, a lift booking in a managed building.

Read them the week before and they turn into a list of things you can no longer do. Packing articles are useful from about two weeks out and stay useful until the last box. Moving-day articles are worth reading the evening before rather than earlier, when the details are about to matter.

Circumstance articles have no fixed window and should be read as soon as you know the circumstance applies, because they usually change the plan rather than adding to it.